Islamabad, Nov 21 (IANS): The local administration of Peshawar city has denied permission to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance comprising 11 of the country's opposition parties, to hold a public rally on Sunday due to a surge in new Covid-19 cases.

In a statement on Friday, the Peshawar Deputy Commissioner said the Covid-19 positivity rate in the provincial capital is currently "alarmingly high" and has exceeded 13 per cent, The Express Tribune reported.

Any large public gathering is likely to increase the spread of deadly virus, it added.

The official statement further said that to protect the human lives in view of aforementioned factors, the permission cannot be granted.

Friday's development came after Prime Minister Imran Khan in a televised address to the nation announced on Monday that he was imposing additional restrictions on public gatherings in the wake of a Covid-19 resurgence, which included the suspension of political rallies and gatherings.

Shortly after Khan's announcement, the PDM had declared that it would proceed with its rallies despite the ban imposed by the government.

Sunday's rally would be the alliance's fourth power show after the first, second and the third were held on October 16 in Gujranwala, October 19 in Karachi and October 25 in Quetta.

After Peshawar, the PDM is scheduled to stage two more rallies -- Multan on November 30 and Lahore on December 13.